


A Super Christmas Eve

by facelessoldwoman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas Party, Domestic Fluff, F/M, M/M, Mistletoe, Snowed In, Superfamily (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 13:06:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2774105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/facelessoldwoman/pseuds/facelessoldwoman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, just making it home on time is it's own Christmas Miracle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Super Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve finds one Tony Stark at yet another charity “Obligation Party” at the insistence of Miss Pepper Potts. The party in question was hosted by his alma mater. The event started innocently enough with publicity photos and handshaking, but the sun set hours ago as the evening gave way to night. Jingle Bell Rock played for what seemed like the three hundredth time and Tony took a long draw from his vodka tonic.

A crowd of single woman with PhD’s in Quantum Mechanics closed in on Tony. The women draped their bodies with red and gold, donning jingle bell earrings in their ears and large smiles on their faces: the war paint of the Christmas Social. Tony was happy to return to his old stomping grounds to talk science and to drop off a tax-deductible donation check, but he had a sinking feeling that the ladies surrounding him had neither science nor charity on the brain.

A blonde woman in a Santa hat patted Tony on the arm, “So glad that you could come to our little get-together, Tony! If I knew that this was what it would take for you to visit me, I would organize them more often!”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Tony smiled. He had been smiling politely all evening. His face was starting to hurt.

“Where’s Pepper?” asked a woman with plastic elf ears pointing up from behind her glasses, “She used to love these parties.”

“Or is Pepper no longer a going concern?” a woman in a low cut red dress chimed in.

“Pepper?” Tony called out, “Pepper!”

“Yes, Tony?” Pepper asked. She settled in next to Tony, and he brought his arm around her instinctively.

“These lovely ladies were asking about you,” Tony said. His smile shifted from polite to genuine, “I assume to thank you for our generous donation to the college.”

“I’m always happy to help you spend your money, Tony,” Pepper said, a warm smile spreading across her own lips. She greeted each woman by name and shook their hands. The group of women disbursed with an air of disappointment, off to find eligible bachelors to corner under the mistletoe. 

“You threw me to the wolves there, Pepper,” Tony whined, “Did you get me another drink at least?”

“I got you WATER and some Aspirin,” Pepper said, taking away his empty martini glass, “No more Christmas hangovers, remember?”

“Killjoy,” Tony muttered. He downed the pill and took a swig from the water bottle, “Thanks.”

Tony looked over to Pepper and pulled a string of tinsel out of her neatly arranged hair. Pepper smiled a coy little smile at him and Tony felt a deep stirring of affection for her: how her neatness kept his craziness in check, how her thoughtfulness kept his legacy from devolving into a train wreck. She was sensible enough for the both of them, and strong enough to fight her own battles. She seemed distracted tonight, though, always looking at the clock and checking up on her phone.

“Anything going on after this?” Tony asked.

“Oh nothing,” Pepper said, “Just…”

An electronic version of God Bless America started up from right over Tony’s heart.

“Duty calls,” Tony said, pulling out his phone and silencing it with his answer, “Yes dear?”

*             *             *             *             *

“Tony where are you?” Steve asked. He stood at the front window looking up and down the dark avenue hoping for a glimpse of an approaching car. The shimmering lights from the Christmas tree behind his shoulder reflected in the glass.

“At the Christmas Party for Drunk Academics, of course,” Tony said, “How’s Peter?”

“He’s wondering where his father is,” Steve said, “I thought you’d be home by now.”

“What time is it?” Tony asked, pausing for a few seconds before saying, “Ah Shit.”

Steve could hear the faint voice of Pepper through the phone, “ _What is it Tony?_ ”

Tony’s voice became muffled, as though he were putting his hand over the speaker, “ _I’ve got to go_.”

“ _What’s the matter?_ ” Pepper asked.

“Tony,” Steve said, “Tony!”

The line was dead. Steve tried to redial but it went straight to voicemail. He huffed an angry sigh and put his phone in his pocket.

“What’s wrong, pop?” Peter said, walking into the room with a giant bowl of popcorn.

“Nothing, Peter,” Steve said.

“You worried?” Peter asked.

“I’m not worried, he’ll be here,” Steve said, resting his hands on his hips.

“Pepper told me about the party: There’s an open bar and an advanced magnetics lab. I’m not waiting up,” Peter said. He flipped the TV to a Harry Potter Christmas Marathon and crammed a large handful of popcorn into his mouth.

“He’ll be here. He promised,” Steve said, taking a seat beside Peter on the couch. He grabbed a few pieces of popcorn but he didn’t eat them. He kept glancing at the window.

“But Pop,” Peter said through a mouth of partially chewed popcorn, “ _MAGNETS_.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Steve said, messing up Peter’s hair.

“Stahhhhp,” Peter said as Steve laughed, “Gwen’s going to be here soon!”

“Ah yes, how will the lady recognize you without your carefully sculpted hair?” Steve said.

“Please Pop, don’t embarrass me,” Peter said, setting the popcorn down, “She’s nervous about meeting you two and I don’t want her to have a bad time.”

“If you like her I’m sure we’ll like her,” Steve said, “We’ll be on our best behavior, scouts honor.”

“I know _you_ will,” Peter said, rolling his eyes.

“He’ll be here, Peter,” Steve said.

“Okay,” Peter said.

 *            *             *             *             *

“What is it, Tony?” Pepper asked.

“I’ve got to go,” Tony said,

“What’s the matter?” Pepper asked.

 “I needed to be out of here like an hour and a half ago _. Shit, shit, shit_ ,” Tony said. He shoved his phone in his pocket and he ran his fingers through his hair, “A cab, I need a cab, are cabs running? Is there a lineup outside?”

“Non-sense,” Pepper said, “I’ll call Happy and have him bring the car around.”

“Thanks, Pepper,” Tony said, heading for the door. Pepper followed him.

“What is it, Tony?” Pepper asked

“Peter is home from college,” Tony said, “He’s bringing over his new girl home to meet us. Apparently she is the bee’s knees.”

“No one says Bee’s Knees anymore Tony,” Pepper said, “You are turning into such a dad.”

“Well, if I miss this dinner I can throw away my World’s Best Dad mug for sure,” Tony said.

“You mean the one you stole from Steve?” Pepper said.

“Is there anything else you needed from me?” Tony said, “Can you wrap this shindig up for me?”

“Of course, I have it handled,” Pepper said, “Now you go enjoy dinner with the family and the new girl.”

“Pepper,” Tony said, wrapping a scarf around his neck and turning to kiss her on both cheeks before he stepped out into the cold, “You’re my hero.”

Pepper’s cheeks burned bright red as she called after him, “Merry Christmas!”

*             *             *             *             *

In the car Tony turned up the heater as high as it would go and he rubbed his hands vigorously.

“Whoa there,” Happy said, adjusting the dial down a few notches, “I’m sweating through six layers here. Give yourself a minute to warm up, you’ll be fine.”

“Speaking of,” Tony said, turning to look Happy over, “What are you wearing?”

“What, it’s a Christmas sweater,” Happy said. He was wearing a knobby sweater with a large red nosed reindeer on the front. The nose was so red, in fact, that if you ever saw it you might even say it glowed.

“It’s a Yule Tide abomination, is what it is,” Tony said.

“It was a gift,” Happy said.

“From who?” Tony asked.

“You can turn up the heater if you want, just refrain from turning it all the way up to the _SATAN’S ASSHOLE_ setting if you please,” Happy said, turning his attention back on the road.

“Nice ploy, but I’m going to figure out who bought you that sweater,” Tony said, “Changing the subject means it’s a girl.”

“Maybe it was my mother?” Happy said defensively, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave? I thought this party was a big deal.”

“It was a big deal, and I’m over it,” Tony said, “You wouldn’t wear that sweater in public if it was from your mother, you have to be meeting this girl tonight or you wouldn’t be wearing it at all- it’s a date!”

“I’ve known you twenty years and you are _never_ the first person to leave the party, was there a fight?” Happy asked.

“No fight,” Tony said, “I just need to get home. What’s her name?”

“Who’s name?” Happy asked, “Is Steve mad at you?”

“Steve’s only going to be mad if you don’t step on it,” Tony said, “And I’m talking about your girlfriend! The one who bought you the heinous sweater!”

“She made it, okay,” Happy said, “She worked really hard on it and I don’t like you calling it ugly.”

“She made you a sweater?” Tony asked, “She spent hours and hours to make you a sweater for Christmas and you’re wearing it on Christmas Eve for her? You must really like this girl. Like, to the moon and back. Because that sweater is atrocious. I need a Geiger Counter because it might just be radioactive.”

“Shut up,” Happy said.

“I’ll shut up when you tell me,” Tony said.

“I said shut up,” Happy said, his lips tightening.

“I’ve known you twenty years! I know everyone you know,” Tony said, “I know all your friends, I’ve met your parents, we share the same dentist! I don’t know how you could have met someone and progressed to the ugly sweater phase of the relationship without me knowing about it!”

“Tony, I,” Happy said.

“Son of a bitch,” Tony said.

“What?” Happy said.

“It’s Pepper, isn’t it?” Tony said.

“What!?” Happy squeaked.

“It’s Pepper and you two have a date tonight and I’ve high-jacked you into driving across town,” Tony said, slapping himself in the head, “I thought she looked distracted tonight! Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“We thought you might be upset,” Happy said, “Friends and coworkers, mixing business and pleasure.”

“Oh please,” Tony said, “Like you two haven’t caught me doing ten times worse in my personal life.”

“This is different,” Happy said.

“Why?” Tony asked.

“This is Pepper,” Happy said, “This is the woman you’ve trusted and admired for years. She is involved in every facet of your life- knows more about you than you do and … I didn’t want to interfere, I kept my distance for a long time, even when I wanted to get involved myself.”

“You’ve been carrying a torch… the entire time?” Tony asked.

“Well, until last Christmas,” Happy said, “Mistletoe, you know.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming,” Tony said, “Am I really that self-absorbed?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Happy asked.

“Nope,” Tony said. He turned down the heater a couple notches and Happy sighed in relief. The car was quiet for a few minutes while they drove, carols played quietly on the car stereo.

 “She used to carry a torch for you too, you know,” Happy said.

“Yeah,” Tony said, “Yeah I know.”

“Are we cool?” Happy asked. He sneaked a peek at Tony from the corner of his eye, pretending that he was devotedly staring at the road.

“You treat her right?” Tony asked. Happy glanced down meaningfully at his glowing sweater. Tony laughed, “Then I couldn’t be happier, for both of you.”

They came upon a road block at the entrance of Tony’s neighborhood and a sign for a detour up the road.

“Let me out here, Happy,” Tony said.

“We can drive around,” Happy said.

“The snow plow has probably thrown snow over every entrance to the neighborhood,” Tony said, “We can drive around for forty minutes looking for a way in – or you can let me walk the half mile to my house so you can go show Pepper how much you love your horrible sweater.”

Happy asked, “You sure?”

“Happy,” Tony said, “I am ordering you to go back to that party and get drunk on eggnog, don’t keep a lady waiting.”

“Merry Christmas, Tony,” Happy said.

“Merry Christmas, Happy,” Tony said. They hugged for a second and Tony opened the door to step out into the street, “HOLY HELL IT IS COLD AS BALLS OUT HERE!”

*             *             *             *             *

“He’s not picking up,” Steve said.

“Maybe they asked him to turn it off at the party,” Peter said.

“Like that would stop him,” Steve said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Peter said, “If he isn’t home by now he’s not going to make it.”

“Tony _never_ turns his phone off,” Steve said, hanging up and redialing the number.

Peter grabbed the phone and stopped the dial, “He’s fine, he just lost track of time. Pepper is there to look out for him, nothing bad is going to happen.”

“You’re right,” Steve said, grabbing the phone and dialing a different number, “Hi Pepper, is Tony there?”

“Steve?” Pepper said, she was talking loud over the din of the party, “Isn’t Tony with you? I sent Happy to drive him over after you called! Happy called and said he had to leave him at the edge of your neighborhood! Something about snow! That was half an hour ago!”

“Where did he drop him off?” Steve said, speaking loudly so she could hear him.

“Steve?” Pepper called out, “Steve you’re breaking up! They’re starting karaoke, I can’t –”

The call went dead. Steve tried calling Tony again but it went to straight to voicemail.  

“I’m going out looking for him,” Steve said.

“Where is he?” Peter asked.

“He’s walking to our house, Happy dropped him off nearby,” Steve said, “He must have gotten turned around. She said Happy dropped him off half an hour ago.”

“I’ll come with you” Peter said.

“You’ll stay here and wait for your father,” Steve said, grabbing his coat and boots, “Call me as soon as he comes back, okay.”

The doorbell rang and Peter rushed to answer it. A blond girl stood on their doorstep. She had big blue eyes and a navy blue coat. She was smiling nervously but she lit up as soon as she saw Peter.

“Gwen!” Peter said, reaching out to hug her on the doorstep with his feet still bare. He pulled her inside and said, “This is my father, Steve.”

“Nice to meet you Mr. Rogers,” Gwen said, extending her hand formally.

“Nice to meet you as well, Gwen,” Steve said, shaking her hand hurriedly and then stepping out the door, “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Huh?” Gwen asked. She was thrown off balance and she looked around like she should step outside and try again.

“My other dad is lost in the snow somewhere,” Peter said.

“Oh no, should we go help him?” Gwen asked.

“He’s lost in the snow in our neighborhood,” Peter finished.

“I’ll be back soon,” Steve said, “Call me if you hear from him, and … be a gentleman, Peter.”

“Yes, Pop,” Peter said, shuffling his feet. Gwen laughed awkwardly, but Steve was already out the door.

*             *             *             *             *

Steve made his third circle of the neighborhood and he was starting to get panicked. He went down every side street he could think of but no one was outside at this time of night- the weather outside was frightful. He finally pulled into the park down the street from their house and pulled out his phone to call the police. That was when he saw a lone figure on the swing-set.

Steve ran out to the swings and saw that it was Tony.

“Tony, thank God!” Steve said, pulling Tony around to look at him. Tony looked very cold and shaken, “What’s wrong?”

“I d-dropped my phone,” Tony said, he pulled out his device, which was cracked and covered in a coat of frost. His hand was shaking.

“That explains why you haven’t been returning my calls!” Steve said, “What the hell are you doing on the swing-set? We’ve been so worried- I’ve been so worried!”

Tony sighed, “You know that foreclosure that is connected along the back of our street?”

“Yes?” Steve said.

“Well, I figured I could hop the fence as a shortcut,” Tony said.

“And?” Steve asked.

“And… there was a pool,” Tony said, “The snow was over the cover so I didn’t see it, and I fell in, like an asshole.”

“You must be freezing why didn’t you come home?” Steve said.

“Just,” Tony shivered, “C-c-catching my breath.”

Steve looked down and Tony was drenched, parts of his clothes where already frozen on the outside. Tony was shivering under all his layers and his lips were blue.

“Oh my god Tony, how long have you been sitting here?”

“My clock is on my phone,” Tony whined.

“Do you need to go to the hospital?” Steve asked, looking Tony over.

“I need-d-d to get these c-clothes off,” Tony said, waggling his eyebrows and then coughing.

“Shut up you old perv,” Steve said, picking Tony up out of the swing set and holding him in a fireman’s carry, “You aren’t going to get hypothermia on Christmas, not on my watch.”

“That’s the spirit!” Tony said, coughing some more.

When Steve got Tony into the car he pulled off his boots and his jackets, and grabbed a spare coat and some blankets from the backseat. Steve ruffled Tony’s hair dry with the blanket before wrapping him up. Steve turned up the heater all the way and they sat in close quarters for a few minutes while Steve checked him over.

“You can still feel your toes?” Steve said, “And your fingers?”

“Uh- yeah, I can feel them,” Tony said, sniffing, “They’re cold as hell.”

“Good,” Steve said, hugging him hard, “That’s good.”

“I love you too, Steve,” Tony laughed.

“Shut up! I’m allowed to worry,” Steve said, “Why were you jumping fences in the dark anyway?”

“I was in a hurry,” Tony said, “I couldn’t leave my boys alone on Christmas Eve, could I?”

“You better not,” Steve said, reminding Tony about the jackets, “Put these on, would you?”

“I can’t wear these,” Tony said.

“Why not?” Steve asked.

“These are Peter’s, they’re for children,” Tony said.

“Peter is twenty and you are soaked in freezing coats, put on the damned jacket Tony,” Steve said.

“I love it when you get authoritative on me,” Tony said, fumbling with numb hands until Steve turned and buttoned him in.

And finally, finally, they drove back the small distance down the street and to the house.

*             *             *             *             *

“I’m sorry my dads are … a bit weird,” Peter said, “I mean, it’s Christmas, everyone is a bit weird on Christmas, right?”

“I don’t think your dads are weird,” Gwen said, “You haven’t even met my dad yet.”

“Should I be worried?” Peter asked.

“Wear a cup,” Gwen grinned.

“I just wanted this to be a nice night,” Peter said, “I’ve never brought home a girl before and…”

“You’ve never brought home a girl before?” Gwen asked.

“Well, no,” Peter said, “There was never a girl who… who I… there’ve been girls. I’ve had girlfriends before, but not like, like, you.”

“You really need to be less cute when you stammer,” Gwen said, “It’s almost disgusting how cute you are.”

“I’ll try,” Peter said.

“Peter Parker, have you been angling me towards the Mistletoe?” Gwen asked.

*             *             *             *             *

Steve got Tony out of the car and walked them up the front steps, “First thing we are going to do is throw all those clothes in the hamper, then a bath, then a hot drink, and if you’re still not feeling well then the first thing in the morning we’re going to –“

“Steve!” Tony said, motioning for Steve to stop unlocking the door.

“What?” Steve whispered.

“Look,” Tony said, pointing in through the front window.

In the doorway between the sitting room and the kitchen Peter was laughing as he stood in front of Gwen. Gwen was playing with her hair, and shoving Peter playfully. She was leaned up against the doorway, pulling him closer, and then suddenly her gaze turned upward.

“Are they?” Steve asked, “Should we?”

“It’s Christmas, let the kids have their fun,” Tony said, sitting down on the bench by the front door.

Steve sat down beside Tony, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in close (purely to keep him warm, of course) and just as the clock struck midnight to start Christmas day – Peter and Gwen shared their  first Christmas kiss under the mistletoe.

And Steve and Tony shared a Christmas kiss with no mistletoe at all.


End file.
